WHAT CHALLENGES DOES SUMMER SCHOOL POSE?

Compared to the regular school year, summer programs often are designed on a short timeline. Because of budget uncertainty, many districts must wait until the eleventh hour to begin planning course content and making arrangements for staffing. A late start tends to cut short planning time for teachers and can result in course materials arriving late—two commonly cited impediments to program success (Cooper, 2001).

In addition, if summer school is designed to feel like "more of the same" to students who have just completed a regular school year, they may respond with spotty attendance or low motivation. If attendance is optional, programs may encounter high attrition and absentee rates (Cooper et al., 2000). On the other hand, if summer school attendance is mandatory for students who have failed to meet standards or satisfy course requirements, it can feel like punishment (Ediger, 2001).

An earlier review of summer programs for the ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education cited these potential pitfalls (Ascher, 1988):

• Short program duration
• Loose organization
• Little time for advanced planning
• Low academic expectations
• Discontinuity between summer and regular school year curriculum
• Instructional time wasted as new teachers got to know summer students
• Teacher fatigue
• Poor student attendance

Districts that make summer school mandatory for struggling students may find that the program does not result in lasting gains. The short-term test score gains of students participating in Chicago's Summer Bridge program did not carry over to long-term improvements in achievement among students considered at risk for retention (Roderick et al., 1999).

What's more, a program that does not deliver improvements in student achievement may be branded a failure—even though it may well succeed in preventing summer learning loss (Entwisle & Alexander, 1992).

Providing funding for summer programs is an ongoing concern. Program planners may have to search for funding in creative ways, including grant writing, merging funding from several resource streams, and soliciting support from community partners and private sources.

Developing school-community partnerships can be an effective way to expand available resources, broaden the expertise of program staff, and create programs that are a better fit for the local community. However, partners may face challenges as they integrate diverse backgrounds and blend institutional cultures. Effective programs that endure over the long term find ways to resolve conflicts and overcome obstacles (Funkhouser et al., 1995).